One Month, 50K Words: Writers Race to Finish Novels

National Novel Writing Month gives creative types an unrelenting deadline

By Amelia Atlas, Newser User

Posted Nov 27, 2008 9:53 AM CST

(Newser) – Aspiring novelists are packing coffee shops in the Twin Cities and elsewhere as the frenzy of National Novel Writing Month heats up, Minnesota Public Radio reports. Founded roughly a decade ago, “Nanowrimo” challenges writers to conquer procrastination and get 50,000 words down during November. The emphasis, say the organizers, is on quantity, not quality—there’s always time to edit once the month ends.

“Writing is such a solitary art, and Nanowrimo makes it a sport that you can do with a team,” says one participant. The word count requires would-be authors to average 1,667 words a day, but for some the number isn’t the hard part: “I really go into it intending to have a lot of violence, but I have hard time hurting my characters,” said one writer.

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Coffee shops in the Twin Cities and elsewhere have filled with aspiring writers rushing to finish an entire novel. (Getty Images)

Minneapolis, pictured here, is at the center of Nanowrimo%u2014National Novel Writing Month. (Getty Images)

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I know with fiction it's a chance to create situations for characters doing things that you'll never be able to do, and go places you'll never be able to go and I think that can be really attractive to people. - Heather Bufkin, Nanowrimo participant

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One Month, 50K Words: Writers Race to Finish Novels